Though it’s politically correct for a driver to say he’s concentrating solely on his own team’s program, it’s also impossible not to notice what the competition is doing.

Accordingly, Joe Gibbs Racing’s sweep of the top three spots in Friday’s qualifying session wasn’t lost on the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford.

“There’s a balance between watching other teams and focusing on your own,” Keselowski acknowledged after qualifying 19th for Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. “A lot of people would tell you to just do your own thing the best you can, and you’ll be all right, but that’s not really how sports work. You line up against other teams all the time.

“So I think you have to keep your focus on yourself and the other teams at the same time, and I guess in one way it can make you kind of cross-eyed. There’s a reason the Gibbs cars are 1-2-3 right now. They have a lot of speed and are doing things at a very high level. They had a shot at winning the first three races and have been very close to doing that.

“I don’t know if anyone else can say the same. It’s our goal to go out there and find some speed to be able to put up the numbers they are putting up like in qualifying today. Hopefully, we can do that. They have a lot to be proud of with the things they have done to their cars to make them so fast. Of course we want to do the same and get ahead.”